Archive | September, 2013

Dealing With Disappointment

By on September 21, 2013 in 4. Writer’s Life, Inspiration and Life Coaching, Editing Basics, Encourage Me!, Life Coaching, Nurturing Creativity, Nurturing the Soul, Reba Hoffman, Writing Life, Writing Life Coaching

Many of you recently attended the ACFW annual conference in Indianapolis. Those who did pinned hopes on getting some sort of exciting news or opportunity. MBT Voices overall received overwhelmingly positive news. So why am I writing this? Because with the sweet comes the bitter. They always go hand in hand.

I’ve dealt with and helped people through disappointment for decades. There are some things I’ve seen in the circumstance that contributes to the emotion of disappointment that I want to share.

Having Unrealistic Expectations. Truly there are novice novelists who go to their first conference expecting that the biggest publishers in the industry will stand in line to snatch up their masterpiece…that hasn’t quite been finished. Ok, it really hasn’t been written yet, but with a contract in hand, they could stay up late one night and write it.

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Feature Fiction Friday! Meet James L. Rubart

By on September 20, 2013 in Featured Book, Featured Fiction, Featured Fiction Fridays

This year’s Frasier Contest has come to a close. Congratulations to the Semi-Finalists, and our Grand Winner! In order to have the Frasier each year, we introduce the Judges on our blog. Its our way of giving back a little bit to the published authors who help us help YOU!

So lets meet one of the Judges that made it all possible: James L. Rubart, with his new book Memory’s Door!

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Holly Garth, Rachel Hauck, Once Upon A Prince

Deepening the Spiritual Thread

By on September 19, 2013 in Rachel Hauck

I love this quote. I found it on Facebook. And it’s truth resonates. Writing a novel, or any story or article, is hard. And a bit scary. It demands our mind, our will, our determination and yes, even our hearts!

All of my creative juices and emotional energy is demanded when I’m writing a novel. Especially in the final stages when I’m polishing and weaving all of the threads and plot lines together.

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The What and Why of Writing: Stakes

By on September 17, 2013 in 2. Create Your Story, The What and Why of Writing

Why should anyone care about the story you’re writing? Before you launch into an explanation of how your stoic hero is also tenderhearted and how your heroine helps heal his wounded heart, step back for a moment. Yes, compelling characters are vital to a good novel, but you also need to consider the big picture and ask the question: What’s at stake? What: There are three different types of stakes: public, private and personal. Public stakes are what we care about as a culture: an alien invasion of our planet (Independence Day) or some sort of global attack on humanity. The movie Sahara has public stakes because an unknown toxin threatens the world’s entire water supply. Personal stakes hurt the heart of your main character. Think about it: How often […]

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